Team Ishaara from K J Somaiya Institute of Technology received accolades at the India Impact Festival 2024 for their groundbreaking AI solution addressing accessibility challenges. The team earned the top spot in the ‘AI for Accessibility’ category at the Intel AI Global Impact Festival 2024, an achievement celebrated by leaders such as Shri Jayant Choudhary, Minister of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship, Ashutosh Sharma, Secretary, Department of Science & Technology, and Santhosh Viswanathan, Vice President and Managing Director, Intel India.
The award was presented by distinguished leaders, including Shri Jayant Choudhary, Minister of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship, Ashutosh Sharma, Secretary of the Department of Science & Technology, and Santhosh Viswanathan, Vice President and Managing Director of Intel India. Team Ishaara developed an innovative AI-driven platform that translates Indian Sign Language (ISL) into both text and speech in 12 languages, enhancing accessibility for India’s deaf and mute communities. Their work earned them international acclaim, along with prizes of $1,500, certificates, and internship opportunities at Intel.
The Intel® AI Global Impact Festival celebrates transformative AI innovations across three categories:
• AI Changemakers (Ages 13-18)
• AI Changemakers (Ages 18+)
• AI for Accessibility
The festival serves as a platform for showcasing AI’s potential to drive social change, bringing together industry leaders, technologists, academics, and government officials. Team Ishaara, composed of final-year Computer Engineering students Tanish Kaur, Yatharth Wazir, and Yashkumar Dubey, was mentored by Dr Dhanashree Toradmalle. The platform uses a customized Long Short-Term Memory (LSTM) model, trained on 722 video gestures, for ISL-to-text translation, with machine translation and natural language processing (NLP) enabling seamless conversion to text and speech.
“This platform bridges significant communication gaps for the deaf and mute communities of India, enabling real-time, multilingual ISL translation and promoting social inclusion,” said Dr Sarita Ambadekar, Head of the Computer Engineering Department at K J Somaiya Institute of Technology.
Dr Vivek Sunnapwar, Principal of K J Somaiya Institute of Technology, expressed immense pride in Team Ishaara’s achievement. “This accomplishment is a reflection of the remarkable talent at our institution and their commitment to responsible AI. The development of this AI tool is a vital step toward improving communication for individuals with hearing impairments.”
Mentor Dr Dhanashree Toradmalle remarked, “Developing Ishaara has been a truly inspiring journey. This recognition is a testament to the team’s dedication to leveraging AI for inclusivity and social responsibility. We extend our heartfelt thanks to the Somaiya Management & Trust for their unwavering support in fostering innovation.”
